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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cap — a lid
  4. charge — in control
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. charge — electricity
  7. pitch — completely
  8. band — a music group
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. charge — a price
  13. band — a ring
  14. cap — of ice
  15. field — for sport
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a hat
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. branch — a division
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pitch — a sports field

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com